Textile Bracelet Tutorial

Just a quick how to:

You will need some...

memory wire

wire cutters

round nose pliers

scissors

fabric strips or ribbon (1/2 to 3/4 in. wide and 1 yd. long)

glue

embellishments

 Cut a piece of memory wire 2 inches more than the circumference of your wrist.

Using the round nose pliers, curl a loop onto each end of the wire.

 Place a dab of glue next to one of the loops and anchor the end of your ribbon.

Wrap wire tightly, overlapping as you go.

When you reach the other loop add another dab of glue and anchor your ribbon at this end too.

Wrap again in the opposite direction.

 When you reach the end or beginning, depending how you look at it...anchor with one final dab of glue. Trim off any excess ribbon. They should look like this.

You can either leave them like this

or add whatever  you like. I embellished mine with beads and wire.

 I apply a jump ring to each of the end loops to keep the charms and beads from sliding off.

Here are some made with torn strips of cotton textiles.

You can see I over wrapped some with flax, hemp, ribbon and wire.

Here you can see the jump rings and some beaded wire wrapping.

Another set with just bright copper wire wrapping and some simple silver beads.

If anyone decides to make some of these I would love to see them.

I think the possibilities are endless.

karen

Happy Heart

Sometimes when I create something people ask me, "what inspired you to make that".

Sometimes it's hard to explain.

Especially if it's a mood or a feeling that was my inspiration.

Or maybe it was an experience and it was a personal thing.

Anyway...I felt like I needed some bright happy colors.

There it is.
I needed something bright and happy.

 I used an enameled copper charm that I've had for years.

 The glass lamp work beads were made by my stepdaughter, Janice.

 Janice also made most of the beads in this bracelet.

 Bright

 Happy

 Bone and Glass

What inspires you?

karen

Creating My Kind Of Bling

Took some time out to make myself a few new blingy things.

 Bright red coral and a vintage medallion.

This one's my fave.

 Love this beautiful agate.

 Some findings that I made.

 Some findings that I bought, but still like a lot.

Another of my own findings.

 This one's a work in progress. The beautiful blue bead was a gift from my friend Sharon at www.livewirejewelry.blogspot.com.

 This last one is an experiment I'm working on.

 It is a combination of hammered copper and crocheted hemp.

Also a work in progress.

Organic Bling

Thanks for stopping by.

karen

WISH

Yesterday I talked about some textile beads that I had been making, so today I'm going to share with you the finished necklace that I've created using some of those beads.

The textile beads used in this necklace are made of torn strips of rose colored silk wrapped around handmade copper findings. I also made the copper clasp and as you can see it's a little primitive.

This necklace has an overall primitive look to it and I'm happy with that.

I've been experimenting with some resin too.

Most importantly I'm having fun learning something new.

Have a great Friday everyone!

Karen

Textile Beads

Hi everyone. I'm back to making jewelry today. I've made a lot of earrings in the past week and although my technique still needs improvement, I decided to try a little something different today. I want my jewelry to be more me, if that makes any sense. I guess what I'm trying to say is, I want as many of the parts and pieces that I use to be my own creations. Of course I'll still be using beads and vintage findings that I've purchased, but I want to incorporate more of my style into each piece. That being said, I will be adding textiles to my jewelry at times.

This idea isn't something new. I was gifted a beautiful necklace that has an amazing textile bead.

I started out trying to make these perfect and uniform, but after browsing through some of my jewelry books, I realized that the pieces I was drawn to the most, were the ones that had the most imperfections. You know, the things that look more handmade.

I suppose if I wanted perfect, uniform looking jewelry, I could go to the mall and buy the same old things that everyone else wears.

My goal is to create one of a kind wearable art.

I'll be back soon with a finished piece which includes these textile and copper beads.

Have a great day and create something that's all you.

Karen